A proposal for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in Los Angeles, approved by the City Council in February, hit a roadblock when the City’s Planning Department advised that implementing the ban was not in the City’s best interest. The Department also said it lacked staff with the required expertise to draft the required regulations regarding oil and gas operations.

Even if it hired staff with the necessary skills, the agency said in a 67-page report to the Council, any restrictions imposed by the City would probably be preempted by federal, state and county regulations.

Local jurisdictions do have the power to regulate the location of oil and gas activity through zoning and land use regulations, the report noted. But, it adds, it is the position of the energy industry that “local jurisdictions have no authority to regulate how oil and gas extraction occurs.”

The report notes that the industry is aggressively – and successfully – fighting bans on fracking and other well stimulation methods.

Compton was sued by the Western States Petroleum Association after that city imposed a moratorium in April of 2014. The WSPA argued that state rules trumped the city’s authority. Compton cancelled the moratorium in September.